Happy 50th!!

that you expect from a 74. A fine, jammed-out Scarlet. A long WRS near the end of the first set. The Truckin'>Eyes sequence with its meltdown jam, normally found in Dark Star or the Other One, occasionally Playin', but works here as well. Finishing with a jam of NFA>GDTRFB>Sat. Night. Not one of the absolute best of 74, and Weir's guitar is inaudible (you can barely hear the intro to WRS Part 1).

This show is alright, it is plagued with a unbalanced mix of the instruments which makes for an odd listen (as is 9/21/74). The band had just played one of the best shows of the tour right before this one (9/18/74) but the Truckin Eyes NFA is worth a listen. No surprise that they skipped Dark Star and The Other One this night though

They just keep going off the track in every possible way in this second set. I'm sure they walked offstage and wanted to skip the Winterland shows and just take early retirement. You'll find things to enjoy here and there, but rough night if you ask me. Sounds like half the band that quit coke on this tour are having a musical battle with the ones who lied about quitting. Still fun though. It started off okay anyway.

My ears keep coming back to certain shows, periods, tours... Tour based listening is pretty awesome! Think about what the band was doing around this time!
So many changes, attempting to escape the trap of a touring monster, stopping for a bit, planning new material. They were dynamic and vital in a way I never heard them live. As we 80's tour heads discovered there were moments, but surprisingly few when you are able to look at how these earlier periods shine with new songs and inventiveness...
I just find myself appreciating them all the more, and thanking Jesus they lit my light... Don't forget, Jesus Saves... But Espo puts in the rebound!
My apologies for any I've offended!

Overall solid, funky, laid back show. But what are those computer robot noises that pop up every now and again? Was Keith tripping and experimenting with some sort of synthesizer or theremin?

SET ONE
I highly recommend.
What a dreamy set list!!!
Lots of Phil's bass
Donna very mellow with her vocals.
Sound is just great!
Cumberland -great opener. Jack Straw,
THE ROSES, B.I.O.D.T.L
Scarlet Begonias, VERY HOT! Keyboard trippy!
B.T.W, FRIEND -nicely paced. El Paso,
Row Jimmy- so very mellow!
WR Suite Prelude-> WR Suite Part 1-> Let It Grow-> Stella Blue,
(The prelude is short but the jam especially during L.I.G is great/ impressive keyboards)
-Stella goes well with the Weather Suite and prefer this combo in 1st set.
Around & Around
SET TWO
China Cat> Rider, Big River, B.E Women, Greatest , Brokedown, Truckin' >SPACE> Eyes>N.F.A>G.D.T.R.F.B,Saturday Night, E: U.S. Blues
that Greatest Story is just on fire!
and followed by Brokedown now that is contrast!!!
I like to hear Truckin used as space exploration vehicle. A Seastones feel (without the total atonal chaos) in the jam out of Truckin - EYES of the World is waiting in the wings. And that is one mellowed laid back approach into the 1st verse of EYES.(Lyrically from Jerry one of my favorite versions of Eyes.)
Strong NFA>GDTRFB, Bobby handling SAT NIGHT vocals quite well! e) U.S Blues- somewhat underwhelming but heck it is a 5 star show no matter.

Most exellent , this is one of my favorite eras. Weirs guitar is hard to hear, thats too bad. I like the Parcs des Expositions even better, but this is still five stars.Nice upgrade The sound is as good as can be, and a great show... some of the best! Shredding drums, bass, and guitar leads.

Thank you for this recording! Huge improvement over what we had before.

After a solid decade without changes (!) here we have a nice upgrade to the sole soundboard available on the Archive (id=5648).
This is apparently from the same source but closer to that source (one less analog reel generation?).
In addition, I think this version has the correct pitch although someone else might want to verify that (5648 always seemed a tad slow to me).
The improved audio clarity means that you can hear Bobby's guitar just a tad better than you could before .... he's mixed notoriously low on the boards from this night and the following night. It's not like he isn't playing -- he even gets a "solo" for a minute in a half in Not Fade Away (trading licks with Keith, starting around 7:00) when Jerry steps out for a smoke. Who's sitting on the audience recordings of these shows???
For my money, the three French shows from 1974 are some of the most interesting shows in the canon, in part because they represent the "end of the road" (the touring road, at least) for this important incarnation of the band that called itself the Grateful Dead, and in part because the band continues to plough fresh fields even as the dissolution of the larger organization looms in the background.
Note that Row Jimmy and Eyes of the World were played on all three nights. Nothing to sneeze at in 1974.
The version of Let it Grow here is not the longest version but it is exceptionally intense.